This week is Eating Disorders Awareness week. So many families seem to be touched in some way by an eating disorder, whether this is anorexia, bulimia or perhaps overeating, and fortunately the government now seem to be finally waking up to the fact that more has to be done to help people in this situation.
When I see a client with an eating disorder, it very often tends to have been triggered off by an emotional or upsetting event, perhaps occurring in childhood or adolescence. This has invariably lead to a need to have some form of control, and so in the case of anorexia it can mean severely controlling the amount of food which is eaten, and also possibly accompanied by a compulsion to exercise, so that the person becomes dangerously thin and their general health suffers. In the case of someone with bulimia, or a compulsion to overeat, there is a need to control or dampen down strong emotions, and this is done by eating vast quantities of (usually) high calorie, nutrient-poor food. With eating disorders, sometimes there may be a history of abuse, but this is not always the case. There may also be relationship difficulties with one or other parent, but again, every case is different.
Hypnotherapy can be very effective in dealing with eating disorders. We tend to work first of all on identifying the root cause and dealing with the emotions that relate to this, and then building up self-esteem and confidence. Sometimes progress is slow, but it is important that the client is given the resources to begin to feel better about themselves. My treatment would not involve going into detail on the food aspect of the disorder, as I believe that this is merely the symptom, and not the root issue which has caused the disorder in the first place.
If you feel that you may be suffering from an eating disorder, and believe that hypnotherapy could help, please call me for a chat. My number is 01449 780352, or 0781 7158429. Or you can email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Best wishes,
Wendy
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Monday, 13 February 2012
Big birthdays
As Mr Chalk and myself are celebrating our 50th birthdays this year, we had been pondering on what to do to mark this quite special milestone. Do we have a party and invite friends and family? Do we take the boys on a wonderful holiday? Do we go somewhere exotic ourselves?
Well, call us selfish if you want, but we have opted for the latter, and have just booked a 2-week break later in the year in Bali and I am really excited about it. I am sure that many people will feel that it is not quite the thing to just slope off somewhere lovely, just the two of us, but - as we saying the other day - now we are getting older we seem to have developed a 'do what we want to do' mentality (within reason of course). This does not mean that we are neglecting our nearest and dearest at all, but we know the value of treating ourselves once in a while. To borrow that quote from a well-known beauty brand 'Because we're worth it'.
Its funny but just lately I feel a real shift in my thinking towards trusting my own intuition more, and doing what seems right and natural. This may be as simple as going for comfort when it comes to clothes, to doing things that maybe I wouldn't have done before, because I felt that it wasn't for me. I feel more a sense of freedom, a need to follow my own path, and not be hypnotised by what society tells me I should or shouldn't do. I'm not sure if this comes from the feeling that, the older you get, life seems to race by even faster, and the sense of your own mortality is much more sharply in focus.
But, in the same way that I feel the need to 'plough my own furrow' as it were, I also feel a need to contribute in some way, and I am so grateful that my career gives me the opportunity to help people to change their lives, as this gives my life a meaning that it otherwise would not have. As always, its all about achieving a balance.
Perhaps you are approaching a milestone birthday, and its making you re-assess things. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do contact me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Wendy x
Well, call us selfish if you want, but we have opted for the latter, and have just booked a 2-week break later in the year in Bali and I am really excited about it. I am sure that many people will feel that it is not quite the thing to just slope off somewhere lovely, just the two of us, but - as we saying the other day - now we are getting older we seem to have developed a 'do what we want to do' mentality (within reason of course). This does not mean that we are neglecting our nearest and dearest at all, but we know the value of treating ourselves once in a while. To borrow that quote from a well-known beauty brand 'Because we're worth it'.
Its funny but just lately I feel a real shift in my thinking towards trusting my own intuition more, and doing what seems right and natural. This may be as simple as going for comfort when it comes to clothes, to doing things that maybe I wouldn't have done before, because I felt that it wasn't for me. I feel more a sense of freedom, a need to follow my own path, and not be hypnotised by what society tells me I should or shouldn't do. I'm not sure if this comes from the feeling that, the older you get, life seems to race by even faster, and the sense of your own mortality is much more sharply in focus.
But, in the same way that I feel the need to 'plough my own furrow' as it were, I also feel a need to contribute in some way, and I am so grateful that my career gives me the opportunity to help people to change their lives, as this gives my life a meaning that it otherwise would not have. As always, its all about achieving a balance.
Perhaps you are approaching a milestone birthday, and its making you re-assess things. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do contact me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Wendy x
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Diets don't work
I have just finished reading 'Diets don't work' by Bob Schwarz, and it has made for fascinating reading. Schwarz challenges the idea that the only way to become slim is to follow endless diets, and actually maintains that by doing this, we end up becoming fatter than we were in the beginning.
It does seem to be the case that ever since the diet industry began in earnest (1970s) we have been getting fatter. The obesity crisis seems to have reached epidemic levels, with more and more people seriously overweight and resorting to bariatric surgery (gastric by-passes or bands). Many of the clients who come to me with weight issues tend to be people who have tried every diet going, been to slimming clubs or tried meal replacement diets, and they have ended up even more overweight.
It is true that following a diet which is fairly low in calories will result in weight loss, AS LONG AS YOU STICK TO IT. The problem is that, as soon as you revert to your normal eating habits, you will generally put the weight back on, and often more. With many people caught in this vicious cycle of dieting and then overeating, it is no wonder that we have an obesity crisis on our hands. The other thing that happens when people go on strict diets is that their metabolism slows right down, and so they are no longer burning off the calories at a reasonable rate. What then happens when they eat 'normally' is that the metabolic rate is so slow, that the weight goes back on really quickly.
Schwarz advises that to become naturally thin, you simply need to follow these steps:
eat when you are hungry
stop when you are full
eat what you want to eat, not what you think you should eat
eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful
I think that the problem is, this is almost too simple. People feel that losing weight should not be that easy, that it should be punishing, difficult and involve sacrifice and this is one of the reasons why many people still sign up for the diets and the slimming clubs.
The idea of actually starting to tune into your body's natural hunger signals seems revolutionary, particularly as we tend to eat for many other reasons beside actual hunger - when we are happy, sad, angry, irritated, tired, lonely, bored - and I think that this is the key to lasting slimness. Once we can address the emotional aspects of our relationship with food, then we can start to be aware of eating patterns that are keeping us overweight.
Being able to finally realise that what you have been doing to your body in the form of dieting and then usually followed by overeating is tremendously liberating, and actually starting to listen to your body, and its hunger signals can be the beginning of a whole new you, healthier, fitter and naturally slim.
If you would like to find out how hypnotherapy can help you to finally put an end to dieting, and discover the freedom of eating the way that nature intended, do contact me on 01449 780352 or 0781 7158421, or email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Best wishes,
Wendy x
It does seem to be the case that ever since the diet industry began in earnest (1970s) we have been getting fatter. The obesity crisis seems to have reached epidemic levels, with more and more people seriously overweight and resorting to bariatric surgery (gastric by-passes or bands). Many of the clients who come to me with weight issues tend to be people who have tried every diet going, been to slimming clubs or tried meal replacement diets, and they have ended up even more overweight.
It is true that following a diet which is fairly low in calories will result in weight loss, AS LONG AS YOU STICK TO IT. The problem is that, as soon as you revert to your normal eating habits, you will generally put the weight back on, and often more. With many people caught in this vicious cycle of dieting and then overeating, it is no wonder that we have an obesity crisis on our hands. The other thing that happens when people go on strict diets is that their metabolism slows right down, and so they are no longer burning off the calories at a reasonable rate. What then happens when they eat 'normally' is that the metabolic rate is so slow, that the weight goes back on really quickly.
Schwarz advises that to become naturally thin, you simply need to follow these steps:
eat when you are hungry
stop when you are full
eat what you want to eat, not what you think you should eat
eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful
I think that the problem is, this is almost too simple. People feel that losing weight should not be that easy, that it should be punishing, difficult and involve sacrifice and this is one of the reasons why many people still sign up for the diets and the slimming clubs.
The idea of actually starting to tune into your body's natural hunger signals seems revolutionary, particularly as we tend to eat for many other reasons beside actual hunger - when we are happy, sad, angry, irritated, tired, lonely, bored - and I think that this is the key to lasting slimness. Once we can address the emotional aspects of our relationship with food, then we can start to be aware of eating patterns that are keeping us overweight.
Being able to finally realise that what you have been doing to your body in the form of dieting and then usually followed by overeating is tremendously liberating, and actually starting to listen to your body, and its hunger signals can be the beginning of a whole new you, healthier, fitter and naturally slim.
If you would like to find out how hypnotherapy can help you to finally put an end to dieting, and discover the freedom of eating the way that nature intended, do contact me on 01449 780352 or 0781 7158421, or email me on wendy@wendychalk.co.uk.
Best wishes,
Wendy x
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)